Sen. Maria Cantwell (in green), joins local fishermen and community members at Thursday’s Stop Pebble Mine rally.

By Chris Cocoles

SEATTLE – Chilly temperatures greeted a hearty group of an estimated 150 fishermen and community members attending Thursday’s Stop Pebble Mine rally at the Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.

Among several speakers who took the podium was Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell (D), who has penned a letter headed to President Obama in Washington pleading to kill the proposed mining operation that could affect Bristol Bay’s rich salmon fishery and the 14,000 jobs it supports.

“We’re certainly sending a letter today, and we’re emphasizing the regional economic importance of the salmon industry to Washington State and to the larger region, and asking (the president) to take action to protect it,” said Cantwell, who was then asked if she was frustrated with the lack of a public statement from the president on this matter.

“Well, this (Environmental Protection Agency) report just came out last week, and obviously there’s a lot going on. We certainly want to sharpen the focus of the administration that this is an important economic issue, and a vital one for everyone.”

You can read Cantwell’s full letter to Obama here, but she wrote in part:

“I write you today to urge your Administration to use its authority to safeguard the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska, and keep them protected from devastating mining pollutants. Washington state’s maritime economy is worth more than $30 billion in economic activity annually, supporting 148,000 jobs. Recent scientific evidence shows that pollutants from the proposed development of large scale mining near Bristol Bay would irreversibly harm this vital salmon habitat and put in danger Washington’s entire maritime economy.”

“I think the important thing is we forced the science to be done,” Cantwell said after the rally. “A lot of people I think were thinking, ‘Let’s wait until a later point in time.’ But this industry, here in Ballard, said to me this is too important an issue to wait and see what happens when it’s millions of dollars through the process. It’s going to cause a problem; let’s realize that right now. And I think that scientific study that was done really helped crystallize that.”

On her reaction to last week’s lengthy EPA findings, Cantwell said: “I was kind of shocked that a (mining) proposal like this would be proposed given the economic impact and the dangers of that material to something as critical as a vital watershed for salmon. When you look at the information, you are shocked that anyone would propose such a thing. I think the science was a very long process and thought out. And that’s what’s important about science is to do that homework. It’s pretty indicting of the notion that anybody should propose something on that scale on that headwater.”

Local chef and restaurateur Tom Douglas is spearheading a campaign of more than 250 chefs who also plan to put the full-court press on the Obama administration to block the proposal led by mining company Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

“We have 800 co-workers who use salmon as their living, and we are so proud of that,” Douglas said.

One of the most impassioned speeches Thursday came from Alannah Hurley of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay; she is a Yup’ik Eskimo who is a subsistence fisherman and a commercial set netter.

“The EPA watershed assessment said it loud and clear: If our salmon are harmed in Bristol Bay, it will devastate the nutritional, the social and the spiritual health of our people. I don’t have to think about that very hard because they are referring to me. They are referring to my neighbors,” she said.

“The pro-mine folks say mining and salmon can coexist. All of us here today know that is not possible. The science of the assessment proves that this type development of within our watershed will devastate it. And therefore, it will devastate people like you and me who rely on it.”

Local fisherman Brett Veerhusen spoke for his colleagues who attended the rally, He is one of thousands of Pacific Northwest commercial fisherman and sport anglers who work Bristol Bay’s waters

“I think what’s really brought this attention, is the Bristol Bay fishery provides 14,000 jobs nationwide. And what we’ve been able to do is rally fisherman across the country and get them to understand how important it is to protect our natural resources. And we’ve been able to put a lot of pressure by educating and doing outreach with other fishermen nationwide,” Veerhusen said

“We’re not against mining. This is just the wrong mine in the wrong place. We don’t need the gold that bad.”

EPA’s Final Assessment Finds Plenty Of Risks In Bristol Bay Mine

(U.S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PRESS RELEASE)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its final Bristol Bay Assessment describing potential impacts to salmon and ecological resources from proposed large-scale copper and gold mining in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The report, titled “An Assessment of Potential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of Bristol Bay, Alaska,” concludes that large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed poses risks to salmon and Alaska Native cultures. Bristol Bay supports the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world, producing nearly 50 percent of the world’s wild sockeye salmon with runs averaging 37.5 million fish each year.

AN EPA GRAPH SHOWS THAT 50 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S SOCKEYE COME FROM BRISTOL BAY. (EPA)

“Over three years, EPA compiled the best, most current science on the Bristol Bay watershed to understand how large-scale mining could impact salmon and water in this unique area of unparalleled natural resources,” said Dennis McLerran, Regional Administrator for EPA Region 10. “Our report concludes that large-scale mining poses risks to salmon and the tribal communities that have depended on them for thousands of years. The assessment is a technical resource for governments, tribes and the public as we consider how to address the challenges of large-scale mining and ecological protection in the Bristol Bay watershed.”

(EPA)

To assess potential mining impacts to salmon resources, EPA considered realistic mine scenarios based on a preliminary plan that was published by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EPA also considered mining industry references and consulted mining experts. Numerous risks associated with large-scale mining are detailed in the assessment:

Risks from Routine Operation

Mine Footprint: Depending on the size of the mine, EPA estimates 24 to 94 miles of salmon-supporting streams and 1,300 to 5,350 acres of wetlands, ponds, and lakes would be destroyed. EPA estimates an additional 9 to 33 miles of salmon-supporting streams would experience altered streamflows likely to affect ecosystem structure and function.

Waste and Wastewater Management: Extensive quantities of mine waste, leachates, and wastewater would have to be collected, stored, treated and managed during mining and long after mining concludes. Consistent with the recent record of similar mines operating in the United States, polluted water from the mine site could enter streams through uncollected leachate or runoff, in spite of modern mining practices. Under routine operations, EPA estimates adverse direct and indirect effects on fish in 13 to 51 miles of streams.

AN ARTICLE IN ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL LAST YEAR FOUND THAT IT EVEN IF NOTHING BIG GOES WRONG, LITTLE FAILURES CAN ADD UP TO BIG PROBLEMS.

Risks from Accidents and Failures

Wastewater Treatment Plant: Short and long-term water collection and treatment failures are possible. Depending on the size of the mine, EPA estimates adverse direct and indirect effects on fish in 48 to 62 miles of streams under a wastewater treatment failure scenario.

Transportation Corridor: A transportation corridor to Cook Inlet would cross wetlands and approximately 64 streams and rivers in the Kvichak River watershed, 55 of which are known or likely to support salmon. Culvert failures, runoff, and spills of chemicals would put salmon spawning areas in and near Iliamna Lake at risk.

Pipeline: Consistent with the recent record of petroleum pipelines and of similar mines operating in North and South America, pipeline failures along the transportation corridor could release toxic copper concentrate or diesel fuel into salmon-supporting streams or wetlands.

Tailings Dam: Failure of a tailings storage facility dam that released only a partial volume of the stored tailings would result in catastrophic effects on fishery resources.

The assessment found that the Bristol Bay ecosystem generated $480 million in economic activity in 2009 and provided employment for over 14,000 full and part-time workers. The region supports all five species of Pacific salmon found in North America: sockeye, coho, Chinook, chum and pink. In addition, it is home to more than 20 other fish species, 190 bird species, and more than 40 terrestrial mammal species, including bears, moose and caribou.

In 2010, several Bristol Bay Alaska Native tribes requested that EPA take action under the Clean Water Act to protect the Bristol Bay watershed and salmon resources from development of the proposed Pebble Mine, a copper, gold and molybdenum mining venture backed by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Other tribes asked EPA to wait for a mine permitting process to begin before taking action on the potential environmental issues Pebble Mine presents.

Before responding to these requests, EPA identified a need for a scientific assessment to better inform the agency and others. EPA and other scientists with expertise in Alaska fisheries, mining, geochemistry, anthropology, risk assessment, and other disciplines reviewed information compiled by federal resource agencies, tribes, the mining industry, the State of Alaska, and scientific institutions from around the world. EPA focused on the Nushagak and Kvichak River watersheds, which support approximately half of the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon runs.

EPA maintained an open public process, reviewing and considering all comments and scientific data submitted during two separate public comment periods. The agency received approximately 233,000 comments on the first draft of the assessment and 890,000 comments on the second draft. EPA held eight public meetings attended by approximately 2,000 people. EPA consulted with federally recognized tribal governments and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act village and regional corporations.

The study has been independently peer reviewed for its scientific quality by 12 scientists with expertise in mine engineering, salmon fisheries biology, aquatic ecology, aquatic toxicology, hydrology, wildlife ecology, and Alaska Native cultures.

The agency reviewed information about the copper deposit at the Pebble site and used data submitted by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the document titled “Preliminary Assessment of the Pebble Project, Southwest, Alaska,” which provides detailed descriptions of three mine development cases representing 25, 45 and 78 years of open pit mining. The 45-year development scenario was presented as the reference case in the Northern Dynasty report.

Over the course of the assessment, EPA met with tribes, Alaska Native corporations, mining company representatives, state and local governments, tribal councils, fishing industry representatives, jewelry companies, seafood processors, restaurant owners, chefs, conservation organizations, members of the faith community, and members of Congress.

EPA produced the report with its authority to perform scientific assessments under Clean Water Act section 104. As a scientific report, this study does not recommend policy or regulatory decisions.

For more information on the EPA Bristol Bay Assessment, visit http://www.epa.gov/bristolbay.